I’ve been thinking for a while about how to best make use of this blog.

When I first started on this writing journey, I did a lot of “I CAN’T BELIEVE THIS IS HAPPENING TO ME” flailing on my blog. Also, several posts about being an indie author, what I knew, what I did, what I learned, mistakes I made, etc. I wanted to make sure my content was relevant because I wanted to be helpful and I wanted to grow an audience and I wanted to network…

Those days aren’t over, and I should probably do more of that (here) more often, but– as of right now, right this minute– I think I’ll use this blog for purely selfish purposes.

So here is the good news: I’ll be posting more often.

Here is the bad news: It will probably be boring.

Here is the even worse news: I lied. It will be boring. It’ll be the worst.

— Boring boringness below —

Basic Stuff!

March was a busy month. We had my son’s birthday, Apollycon in Washington DC, and then I packed up the kiddos and boarded a flight to Sydney Australia (for the Sydney Author Event). No one told us ahead of time that all stores (including liquor stores…) would be closed on Good Friday (when we arrived). Why is it that when you discover you have no access to food, you think you’re starving? Anyway, after a bit of a scramble, we found an Italian restaurant that allowed takeaway and ordered way too much food. We then ate too much food.

Writing Stuff!

RUGBY: I didn’t get much writing done in March, definitely not as much as I’d like, but April is shaping up to be a productive month. L.H. Cosway (my work wife) and I have been working on the next Rugby book (#4) and it’s going splendidly. Not only are we cracking ourselves up, we’re doing this panster style, so we have no idea what’s going to happen next. Writing is fun again!

Joesy leaned away, lifting her chin to meet my eyes, but kept her arms around my torso. “You don’t have a lot of experience with what?”
I couldn’t speak.
Firstly, she smelled good. Really good. Like flowers.
Secondly, her eyelids were lazily lowered as she peered at me, and the way she’d lifted her face meant that her wide, wine painted mouth was just inches from mine.
When I said nothing, her eyes widened. She stepped away, guessing, “Hugging? You don’t have a lot of experience with . . . hugging?”
I nodded, missing the feel of her skin immediately. She was right, I was stiff and solid. I had to be. It was my job.
She was not.
She was soft. Everywhere. Her arms, belly, sides, back, hips, the tops of her breasts, everywhere we’d touched was yielding and rounded. Fragments of thoughts, of her softness laying beneath me, of her stretching and arching as I tasted and touched the heat of her skin. . .
Crap.
Joesy’s gaze turned sympathetic, her smile sad. “William Moore, do you need a hug?”

WINSTON BROTHERS: Roscoe’s book is not finished yet!! This is a travesty, for many reasons, but mostly because I’m not allowed to sleep until it’s done (… you know what I mean). He’s . . . honestly, he’s lovely. And Simone is just an absolute delight. I hate using the word feisty when talking about women, so I’ll say she’s energetic and fascinating. Yeah. That works. Oh! and if you missed it, I just posted an big old scene on my author facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/PennyReidWriter/) Here’s a small part of it…

“Did I . . . Did I break your heart?” Her words were rushed, nervous, and a little breathless, like she was afraid of the question, or maybe my answer.
Her tone reminded me of so many other times, so many other questions, and a collection of scenes from our shared moments arranged themselves, a spectrum of spectral sights, sounds, and emotions.
The time she asked me if I would teach her how to fight. We’d been ten. She’d been wearing a red shirt and blue jeans, her hair in a ton of long braids. Her forearm was bruised just below the elbow and she wouldn’t tell me who’d done it.
The time she asked me to identify a snake within striking distance of her bare foot. We’d been twelve and it was the last time she’d gone barefoot in the woods.
The time she dared me to go skinny dipping in Bandit Lake. We’d been fifteen and her daddy interrupted us before any clothes had been removed.
The time she asked me to be her cotillion escort. We’d been sixteen and I’d just given her my chocolate milk in trade for her Gatorade.
That time she asked me to teach her how to kiss. . .
The side of my mouth tugged upward, an involuntary response. Moments of mountainous peaks assaulted me, and—as usual—I was helpless to stop the abundance of memories.
Damn it.
I wasn’t in love with her anymore, but that didn’t matter much when I remembered pristinely and precisely what it had felt like when I did.

MORE WINSTON BROTHERS: March was a good plotting month. SO MUCH PLOTTING! And mapping out future books, specifically Billy and Claire’s two book saga. I think . . . I think you’re going to like it. 😉

“What do you want?” I hiked the shopping bag higher on my shoulder and crossed my arms, meeting his glare with one of my own. I sounded impatient, and that suited me just fine. Impatience I could work with. Guilt and grief would get me nowhere but a one-way ticket to waterworks town.
“Why?”
Oh God.
I flinched, closing my eyes, because the single word didn’t sound angry. It sounded hurt. A deep well of hurt, echoing within me, stealing my breath and deflating my impatience.
I shook my head, my voice maddeningly rough and unsteady, “It doesn’t matter.”
“Scarlet . . .” He reached for me. I didn’t see it, I felt it. The earth moved, the air moved, everything moved, except Billy Winston. He was the only constant, and the source of all chaos.

Audio book stuff!

KISSING TOLSTOY: Stephen Dexter is back and this time he’s narrating for Luca in Kissing Tolstoy. The part of Anna was recorded by none other than my trusty assistant, Fiona Fischer. I’M SUPER EXCITED FOR Y’ALL TO HEAR THIS MAGIC!

EPILOGUES: I’m replacing the female-read epilogues in the Knitting in the City series with male-read versions. Stephen Dexter recorded epilogues for ‘Friends Without Benefits,’ ‘Love Hacked,’ and ‘Dating-ish.’ I’m hoping to have Sebastian York (… I haven’t asked him yet) read Quinn’s epilogue at the end of ‘Neanderthal Seeks Human,’ and Chris Brinkley read Drew’s epilogue at the end of ‘Beauty and the Mustache.’ These should all be recorded and uploaded/replaced by the end of the summer.

Other projects in the wings!

KNITTING PATTERNS: Okay people, we have a list! A final list. The patterns are being designed as we speak (yes, I know we’re not speaking, but you know what I mean). We’ll have a minimum of 25 and at least 1/3 will be crochet / have a crochet version. I used to be a crocheter (not a knitter) so I feel sensitive about the inclusion of enough crochet patterns. More on this . . . later.

COOK BOOK: This is happening. Several of the recipes have been written and tested. Over the summer we’re doing a casting call for bearded men who want to pretend to cook while shirtless. Oi vey, I can’t believe this is actually going to happen. (You can’t see me, but I’m rolling my eyes at myself). More on this . . .  later.

PENNY REID UNIVERSE: This is moving forward, for reals. I just sent the first version of the (draft) overview document to a few authors who said they were interested last November. We’re setting up all the infrastructure now so we can have our first event launch in November 2019. More on this . . .  later.

Reading stuff!

I read a few books this month for fun (and they were fun). Here are the ones I’d like to share:

Fun and fast-paced YA Fantasy: ‘Daughter of the Pirate King’ (https://amzn.to/2v72xkR) and ‘Daughter of the Siren Queen’ (https://amzn.to/2HAx9Ok) by Tricia Levenseller. I’ll be looking for more from this author, I think there will be great things to come.

Historical Romance with a deep character study (heroine) that I very much enjoyed: ‘Someone to Hold’ (https://amzn.to/2EHPNR7) by Mary Balogh. I’ve read the first in this series, but I honestly preferred this one. The heroine was superbly flawed, and I related to her on so many levels.

I just borrowed ‘Pestilence’ (https://amzn.to/2EETKGl) by Laura Thalassa from KU and have high hopes for it based on the Goodreads reviews.

By the way, if you have any recommendations for books you feel I absolutely *MUST* read, please drop them in the comments below.

Other things!

Newsletter coming out early next week… expect some good stuff.

 

<3 Penny

 

by pennyreid
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